Treasure the little things in life.

Sunday, February 26, 2017

My dad noticed I have been reviewing Pan Mee these couple of weeks and he brought me and my brother to a famous Pan Mee stall in Seri Kembangan over the weekend. He said a friend took him there and introduced this place to him and he find the Pan Mee there to his liking. Hence started our impromptu journey from PJ to Seri Kembangan on a Sunday morning to this Pan Mee place at Serdang. The shop is located along a row of shop houses and it's does not stand out much. Even the signage is pretty small. On the way there I did a google search and noticed not many reviews were done for this place. I told my brother after trying out this place, I will evaluate and see if they are as good as what my father says. Read on and you shall know my thoughts.

The pricing was unbelievable! Where can you get a bowl of noodles for RM4.80 these days!

As quoted by my brother "Pan Mee with a twist" on his instagram account @james_yfk he is also a foodie at heart. There were 3 of us but we ordered 4 bowls. We caught the uncle who was taking our orders by surprised. We ordered the usual Pan Mee (Dry). There were three kinds of noodles that you can choose from - thick, thin and the handpulled ones. I ordered the thin ones as I never like to take my pan mee in the thick noodle form and I always prefer it dry. The noodles came with a generous serving of minced meat. On first bite, the noodles were soft and nice and doesn't clump together. Next I had it with their chilli and guess what...

I automatically fell in love with their sambal chilli too. It has a tinge of sourness and sweetness that is a perfect match made in heaven and goes so well with the dry pan mee. It creates a strong appetite for me.

Next we tried the curry pan mee. Luckily we ordered this earlier as I heard it was sold out after 10 mins of my order. The curry is awesome!!!! Dad loved this! Another sold out Pan Mee which we did not get to try is the Dumpling Pan Mee.

One of their famous Pan Mee is the one with this meat. I noticed the older generation loves this and it certainly is one of a kind. It's called the Hakka Char Yoke Pan Mee. This is my father's favourite too. Took a bite. the meat is soft and tender. Thumbs up from me! So now you can see there are so many varieties of Pan Mee at this stall. Hope you get to try them all in your next food adventure.

Earlier when we walked in we noticed many tables were still waiting for their noodles. Good food must wait loh...We waited for a good 20 minutes before our food arrived. Do expect a crowd and be patient.

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Talking about Pan Mee in my previous post, I would like to recommend you one of the best Handmade Pan Mee in my neighbourhood in SS2. At the corner of SS2/103 is this coffee shop called Restoran Hock Thai. It's usually flooded with people on Saturdays and Sundays in the mornings right up till lunch time. It is closed on Mondays.

The shop is usually quite packed on weekends catering to people from the neighbourhood.

On top of my list is this Handmade Pan Mee. It's one of the best Pan Mee I have ever eaten. I usually like my Pan Mee Dry.

They are quite generous with the minced meat. If you do not have enough ikan bilis, you may ask for an add on with a RM1 extra charge. Their ikan bilis is super crispy and rocks!

The best part for this Pan Mee is complimented with a good chili sambal. Topped with some lime squeezed into it, it completes the whole Pan Mee experience.

For those who love soup you can also opt for the Pan Mee Soup. Their soup base is sweet and nice!

Here's a look at the Pan Mee (Pulled) handmade noodle texture. Its smooth texture glides in your mouth. These days not many Pan Mee stalls offer pulled handmade ones cause it's a lot of work. I have seen their team of workers roll pre-made flour into balls before stretching and pulling it into a strip of noodle that looks like a tongue before cooking it. Sometimes when business is good, the wait can be up to ten bowls or more.

This is the Pan Mee Stall located in the middle part of the stretch of stalls.

Some other Pan Mee Options they offer and their pricing.

My next favourite stall is the Claypot Loh Shu Fun.

Sometimes I would eat this as an alternative to my favourite Pan Mee. This stall offers Loh Shu Fun made in the REAL CLAYPOT.

Some stall operators sell Loh Shu Fun but they do it the easy way out- which is make it dry (kon lou) and just serve it in a claypot to look as if it's cooked in a claypot.

Loh Shu Fun cooked in the REAL CLAYPOT is definitely more "heong" and when this arrived, it sizzles and the Uncle can be heard reminding us becareful of the hot claypot.

Also a very generous portion of minced meat and some meatballs. Also one of the best Claypot Loh Shu Fun I have eaten.

This stall's sambal chilli is also superb!

This is the Claypot Lou Shu Fun Stall located right at the back (next to the back gate).

Besides the Claypot Loh Shu Fun, this stall also sells Fish Paste noodle, Claypot Yee Mee and Prok Meat Noodles which I have not tried. I usually have my favourite three at this restaurant. Maybe I should be a little bit more adventurous,

These are the two best sambal chilli ever. The left is from the Calypot Loh Shu Fun Stall and the right one is from the Handmade Pan Mee Stall. I sometimes order from both stalls and do a mix and match of my own.

SARAWAK TOMATO MEE

I discovered this by chance many years ago. Having been to Sarawak a few times, I have only tried Kolo Mee and never knew the existance of Tomato Mee. To me, a Tomato Mee sounds geli. The image of eating noodles with a bottle of ketchup sprung to my mind. When my girlfriend Cheng Bee ordered this one day when I took here here, I took a spoonful and tried. To my amazement it wasn't like how I imagined it at all! The ketchup was perfectly mixed with a lot of other ingredients and the taste was also enhanced. WOW! this is a simply must try. The noodles are fried, hence their texture is crunchy. Topped with the steamy hot special tomato sauce, this dish is super appetising. It has the right amount of sourness that makes it even more appetising.

Here's the stall. Owned and run by a family from Sarawak, it's rather authentic. Now I don't have to fly to Sarawak for my Kolo Mee too! I have yet to try their Sarawak Laksa. Looking forward to that soon. Be sure to try out the Tomato Mee. Be adventurous.

The friendly Aunty who made my Tomato Mee

Introduced my girlfriend, Hooi Khaw who is a foodist at heart and brought her to this place to enjoy my top 3 picks at this restaurant in SS2/103. Her verdict: Semua pun best!

Looking forward for more gastronomic adventure with you, Hooi Khaw.

So now you know what to try when you're at this restaurant at SS2/103.

Thursday, February 16, 2017

OK! Guys. This Aunty Pan Mee is my favourite food stall since she first started business at Taipan USJ10. I was so hooked to her dishes and when she later moved to another location, I went and hunt for her. It took me almost two months to locate her at her new place. Thankfully it was still in USJ. Her current stall is in Subang Perdana Goodyear Court 2, next to the BRT USJ7. (Thank you to reader Meng Chauw Bee for correcting me) I have been her avid fan for more than 10 years.She has been here at the current coffee shop at USJ 6 (Restoran Wai Kwan) for 6 years and by end of this month (Feb), she is moving again. To my horror this time somewhere further away.....Sungai Buloh! Netherless (scroll down to the last part of this blogpost) and you will be able to find her as the address of her new stall is there.I started off eating her pan mee and later changed to my current favourite her Yee Mee soup. What makes her noodles so good? It's her chilli of course! I can never get enough of it. Sometimes she is so kind enough and let me pack some for my own consumption. I use her chilli to compliment some other noodle places that do not offer sambal. Yup! I sometimes bring my own sambal or chilli sauce to other noodle stalls. My favourite item is the Yee Mee Soup. With aromatic ikan bilis as soup base, I am addicted and sometimes crave for this dish.

Pan Mee Soup

Dry Pan Mee

Her chilli is the best! Quite pedas also. Ada "kick"

Her Pan Mee is also awesome.

She is one hardworking lady.

By end of February, she will relocate here. Subang Jaya folks, this will be her new place if you wanna find her!

Heheeheee! This is a community message brought to you by choypengism.blogspot.com

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Happy Valentine's Day!One month ago, my bestie asked if she could date me this Valentine's Day and I said YES! My Bff Lily Indra flies down from the UK and I only get to see her 3-4 years once.I had so much to share with her and just can't wait to catch up with her again. I was planning a surprise for her. Here's how I "dated" her with a Valentine On A Budget. Celebrating Valentine's Day need not be expensive. There are tons of brands running contests. Join in the fun and win something for your Valentine without splurging too much. Afterall, it's the thought that counts, correct?

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Lily Indra my bff and bestie,

I really really miss you!

I really really really wanted to get my gf a bouquet of roses. I figured she may not be able to carry fresh flowers home, hence I made her a bouquet with fake pink and white roses I bought from Kaison. I wrapped it up with a premium wrapper and topped it up with a Rilakkuma toy from Jalan Jalan Japan. Cantik tak?

I even topped it up with a nice little card with some personalized messages. I want it to be a memorable celebration for us.

Valentine's Day is acelebration of LOVE, not just for couples or lovers, but every kind of friendship. Valentine's this year marks our celebration of our long lasting friendship of more than 12 years. We may not be able to hang out or see each other as often as before but technology constantly keeps us connected. This year it's so special that my gf is physically back here. End of the day I decided to give her both, REAL and a FAKE Bouquet of flowers.Look how happy she looks. I was happy I made her day!

Prior to making the DIY bouquet, I have been scouting around for affordable roses. I came across http://happybunch.com.my/ which offers simple, affordable fresh flowers at RM42 (or sometimes more) a bouquet for a same day delivery. I have been stalking their pages daily and fell in love with some very unique bouquet. My favourite bunch is the first one dated 3 Feb 2017. I love their combination of pink roses and some purple flowers. Which is your favourite? See their collection here

Here's their Valentine Bouquet

It must be my lucky day!I found out that Uber was running a contest and I could win one of Happy Bunch's beautifully crafted roses that I admire so much. Hence, my I put on my contest mode and sprung in to action. I was trying to win a Valentine bouquet for my mom too! There were 30 bouquets to be won and I find the chances were quite good to win one, hence I started crafting my winning entry. I also shared this with some close friends and colleagues and guess what! All of them won a bouquet too! I am super happy that they each got a bouquet courtesy of Uber and Happy Bunch this Valentine's Day.

Mom and her Valentine bouquet from Happy Bunch and Uber.

Here's the bouquet of Roses we won from Uber and Happy Bunch. It comes with a box of Chubbee Cloud Marshmallows. Thank you so much for making our day! The flowers were delivered a day before Valentine's Day. How thoughtful! There'e enough time to plan for a surprise for our partners.

Who doesn't love roses? I just can't get enough of them.Give me two bouquets also I want!

I got to know another promotion (tied in with roses) that was simply out of this world! O'Briens Irish Sandwich Cafe was giving away a free bouquet of roses (red or white) when you order a minimum of RM28 via their website http://www.obriens.com.my/ with a special promo code OBLOVE. But this was only limited to the first 15 orders. I jumped at the chance. I ordered two sets and I made it to the first 15 list! Yay! I figured that since I was so sick of the food at my work place, why not order delivery on Valentine's Day for O'Briens Sandwhiches and at the same time I can get the roses for free.

I even ordered a set to be sent home on Valentine's Day to my mom who can enjoy her lunch and flowers to go with it! I am sure she is smiling all the way when I told her that I will order her lunch and flowers on Valentine's Day.

For those who have missed it, here's the promo but now it's a bit too late to seize the deal lah.Check out the bouquet from O'Brien's promo. I was pleasantly surprised that these flowers looked super presentable and so blooming fresh. We even get to do a personalised message on the card.

There were plenty of roses at my office today.

So How did you celebrate your Valentine? I dated by BFF and we were dressed to the nines for this special occasion.

This is one memorable Valentine's Day with you, Lily Indra! My gf flies back to the UK this Thursday and I will miss her badly.